I’m trying to find strategy games that focus on managing cities or civilizations. I like games where you can pause and plan things out, so anything that isn’t fast paced combat or shooting games works for me. This includes empire building games, business simulation games, or urban planning games.
What I really want is something with a dark atmosphere where I can create an authoritarian state. I want to control people through oppression or constant monitoring. The game should have a serious mood, not something funny or lighthearted.
I’ve already played games like Rimworld, Civilization games, and Frostpunk. Any recommendations would be great!
Project Zomboid has some interesting base building mechanics where you can fortify areas and control survivors in pretty brutal ways. The whole apocalypse setting gives it that oppressive feel you’re looking for.
You might want to check out the Tropico series. It’s all about being a dictator in a banana republic where you can go full authoritarian with secret police and propaganda. You’ll get to control your citizens’ lives and crush dissent too. Also, Papers Please could be right up your alley. You play an immigration officer in a totalitarian state, facing tough decisions on who gets through. Both games have that dark atmosphere you’re seeking.
Orwell is another good one where you’re basically running surveillance on citizens for the government. You dig through their personal data and decide what gets reported. Also try This War of Mine if you haven’t already - it’s more survival focused but has that really oppressive wartime atmosphere where you make tough moral choices about your group of survivors.